Vision Class supposedly will be around at least 3 more years

[shipgeeks]

1 hour ago, Another_Critic said:

Or work a deal to move the cruise terminal.

This has been discussed a number of times, with no satisfactory answer.

 

1 hour ago, Jimbo said:

Bring it further south to Virginia 🙂

This has been discussed, with many saying they would not go there.

 

50 minutes ago, Another_Critic said:

Better yet, move it to Philly ... there's already a cruise terminal. 

 

Disclaimer: I have no idea if larger ships can clear the Delaware River bridges.

We sailed out of Philadelphia twice, years ago. For whatever reason, it was not kept on as a departure port.

[island lady]

13 hours ago, little britain said:

On Enchantment now and it’s already very evident that the furniture is new in VCL or Spotlight Lounge; unlike the threadbare saggy scuffed chairs on Brilliance or Jewel.

The art in my cabin isn’t sun faded either. 

 

Nice thanks for sharing!  We are looking forward to being on the sweet little "Enstretchment" again next year.  🙂   Always enjoyed sailing with her when she was stationed in PC.  

[jean87510]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

This has been discussed a number of times, with no satisfactory answer.

 

This has been discussed, with many saying they would not go there.

 

We sailed out of Philadelphia twice, years ago. For whatever reason, it was not kept on as a departure port.

My travels would be so much easier if moved to Philadelphia!  Although Baltimore really wasn't a bad 2 hr drive last week and Bayonne is 1.5 hrs.  

[Another_Critic]

1 hour ago, shipgeeks said:

We sailed out of Philadelphia twice, years ago. For whatever reason, it was not kept on as a departure port.

Sailed on Nordic Empress (Oct. 2001) and Norwegian Majesty (Sept. 2009) from Philadelphia.  Parents also sailed on Celebrity Horizon.

 

I also had a company holiday party years ago at the Philadelphia cruise terminal.  😄

[Biker19]

9 hours ago, HERDFAN said:

 I would love to see a Radiance class ship in Baltimore. But I question why they haven't done it up until now.

Like with all other ship home port decisions it’s likely because they can make more money at a different home port. 

[island lady]

RCI tends to send the Radiance ladies on longer trips, more exotic locations.   For example: Serenade on the World Cruise, Radiance doing her usual north/south Seward/Vancouver runs, and now Brilliance doing RT Alaska from Vancouver.  Jewel off to Europe.  

 

[compuryan]

On 11/6/2023 at 5:25 PM, PhillyFan33579 said:

What made you think Vision class ships would be gone shortly? Or am I reading too much into your post? 

I too would have expected them to be offloaded with like 10000 more pax capacity coming in that time from Icon and Utopia. Shows the demand is consistent though.

Edited November 8, 2023 by compuryan

[twangster]

Three more years sounds about right.  They probably would have been sent to the pasture (Pulmantur) already if that door didn't close.  Heck Grandeur was already heading that way.

[moposh]

Vision is in Baltimore until at least April 2025.

[shipgeeks]

2 hours ago, moposh said:

Vision is in Baltimore until at least April 2025.

With a break, apparently for a drydock, in April-May, 2024.

[PhillyFan33579]

6 hours ago, compuryan said:

I too would have expected them to be offloaded with like 10000 more pax capacity coming in that time from Icon and Utopia. Shows the demand is consistent though.

It is pretty impressive that even though RCI is increasing capacity, prices have significantly increased. I booked two cruises on Icon next year shortly after you could start booking Icon. Since that time, the prices on these cruises have almost tripled. I was planning to book a few more cruises on Icon next year, but decided to stick to Oasis and Quantum class ships instead. 

[CntPAcruiser]

6 hours ago, moposh said:

Vision is in Baltimore until at least April 2025.

 

4 hours ago, shipgeeks said:

With a break, apparently for a drydock, in April-May, 2024.

 

We just got off Vision last Saturday, and it was hinted that one of the smallest ships would be up for sale, not sure which one. Vision is not in bad shape in the public areas, but behind the scenes, particularly in the galleys (based on a galley tour), many pieces of equipment are tagged out and awaiting repair or replacement. It made food service more difficult and caused plenty of problems with food temperatures in both the main dining room and the Windjammer. Supposedly there will be upgrades to allow food service to go more smoothly.

[goldfish65]

One full Icon class ship brings in more money than all the Vision class combined, I bet. You can see how it's better for the company's bottom line to operate fewer ships. 

[edrussell]

Have sailed on 2 of the Vision class ships and Oasis class ships and while it seems to buck the trend my wife and I would take a Vision any day over an Oasis class.  I know their days are ultimately numbered but there is just something about Lady G or Enchantment that fits our needs so well.  They don't have all the bells and whistles by any stretch (nice pun) of the imagination but that is just fine by us.  We are actually booked on Wonder in Feb of 2024 and my wife is excited about her, I am not.

[twangster]

In 2018 I saw the writing on the wall with respect to Empress and Majesty.  So I made a point of watching for opportunities to sail them knowing they wouldn't be around forever.  There were no announced plan to move these two ships to pasture but my gut said to sail them.

 

I have the same gut feeling about Vision class.  They won't be around forever. 

 

I have a twenty year old car.  It's a great car.  It's a manual transmission and it doesn't have anti lock brakes but it's in good shape and it's a fun car to drive.  I had to retrofit a bluetooth radio and I added a Carplay display.   I put on some seat covers and it looks fine but there is no mistaking it is twenty years old.  I recently replaced the head on the engine and the clutch will need to be replaced soon.  Some suspension work is in the future.  

 

A twenty plus year old ship is kind of the same.  They can put new flat panels in cabins and such but there is no hiding the fact that the ship is twenty plus years old.   

 

They are getting costly to maintain, they will break down more often, they are not efficient to operate just like my twenty year old car is a pig on gas.  There is no practical way to make something twenty years old fuel efficient.  

 

If you want to experience Vision class look for opportunities to sail them over the next few years.

[GlasgowCruiser01]

I think it will be a decade until we say goodbye to the full class. There's still 4 left and they haven't announced the sale of any of them yet. I think towards the end of the 2020s/early 2030s, they'll sell Grandeur, Rhapsody & Vision, probably leaving Enchantment around a little bit longer.

Edited November 9, 2023 by GlasgowCruiser01

[BillB48]

48 minutes ago, edrussell said:

Have sailed on 2 of the Vision class ships and Oasis class ships and while it seems to buck the trend my wife and I would take a Vision any day over an Oasis class. 

You echo my feelings down to the T.  I have sailed on all 4 remaining Vision class ships, all of the Radiance class ships, 3 of the Voyager class, all Freedom class and 3 cruises on various Oasis class.  Without a doubt the only ships I have no desire in sailing again are the Urban Sprawl of the Seas class.  In case there is any doubt, I am referring to the Oasis class 😉.  I am not saying I won't sail on those ships, but it is not the ship that will attract me to the cruise.  I guess if and when an Oasis class ship and I cruise again, it will be in spite of the ship!

[island lady]

1 hour ago, BillB48 said:

You echo my feelings down to the T.  I have sailed on all 4 remaining Vision class ships, all of the Radiance class ships, 3 of the Voyager class, all Freedom class and 3 cruises on various Oasis class.  Without a doubt the only ships I have no desire in sailing again are the Urban Sprawl of the Seas class.  In case there is any doubt, I am referring to the Oasis class 😉.  I am not saying I won't sail on those ships, but it is not the ship that will attract me to the cruise.  I guess if and when an Oasis class ship and I cruise again, it will be in spite of the ship!

 

Indeed...and is exactly why I won't sail on the new Icon or Utopia.  Currently on Wonder, which is a convenient 7 night from our local port, and do adore the set up with the GS cabins being on the same floor as CK/SL (without having to book the 2 story cabins on previous sisters).  Everything is all on one floor without having to deal with the crowds in the other areas of the ship.   

 

But I think we are done with this size of ship.  Looking forward to getting back to the smaller ships.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited November 9, 2023 by island lady

[Jjohnb]

On 11/7/2023 at 2:10 PM, Another_Critic said:

Better yet, move it to Philly ... there's already a cruise terminal. 

 

Disclaimer: I have no idea if larger ships can clear the Delaware River bridges.

Royal sailed the Empress out of Philly for years.  I'd love to see a ship come back to Philly but it won't happen, the bridge clearances are lower than Baltimore, it took the ships much longer to get out to open water and they didn't tend to fill up as well as sailings out of Baltimore.  With Bayonne only an 1 1/2 hours up the NJ turnpike and Baltimore an 1 1/2 hours down I-95, unfortunately, there really isn't a need for a terminal in Philly even if the other logistical issues didn't exist.

 

I do hope that Baltimore holds on as long as possible.  Royal did confirm that a Radiance class ship would fit into Baltimore even though they have yet to home port one there. 

[Jjohnb]

23 hours ago, twangster said:

Three more years sounds about right.  They probably would have been sent to the pasture (Pulmantur) already if that door didn't close.  Heck Grandeur was already heading that way.

 

Perhaps selling the remaining Vision and Radiance class ships to Marella would be a good option?  Marella is owned by TUI which is a joint venture owned 50% by Royal.  Marella Discovery is the old Splendour ots and Marella Discovery 2 is the old Legend ots.  I've watched a couple recent ship tours of the Marella Discovery on Youtube and it appears that Marella has made significant upgrades to it and it's in amazing condition.  We've been on the Enchantment and Vision recently and while they are in good shape and feel like home, the Marella Discover puts them to shame.  Vision and Radiance class ships would be primary ships for Marella and would receive the required capex where with Royal they are the past and are only receiving the minimum needed to keep them in service until they depart the fleet.

 

Marella Discovery ship tour:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0CiyzsaUQ&list=PL0iK2JX-uLJPgoz9BOBPjXVeu9fls36QM&index=11

    

[Saab4444]

18 hours ago, goldfish65 said:

One full Icon class ship brings in more money than all the Vision class combined, I bet. You can see how it's better for the company's bottom line to operate fewer ships. 

Royal still has to pay a huge amount for new ships and the old once are amortized, makes a big difference in the overall calculation of profit. Also to remain competitive as a global player they need some smaller ships for some destinations.

[Saab4444]

2 hours ago, Jjohnb said:

 

Perhaps selling the remaining Vision and Radiance class ships to Marella would be a good option?  Marella is owned by TUI which is a joint venture owned 50% by Royal.  Marella Discovery is the old Splendour ots and Marella Discovery 2 is the old Legend ots.  I've watched a couple recent ship tours of the Marella Discovery on Youtube and it appears that Marella has made significant upgrades to it and it's in amazing condition.  We've been on the Enchantment and Vision recently and while they are in good shape and feel like home, the Marella Discover puts them to shame.  Vision and Radiance class ships would be primary ships for Marella and would receive the required capex where with Royal they are the past and are only receiving the minimum needed to keep them in service until they depart the fleet.

 

Marella Discovery ship tour:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0CiyzsaUQ&list=PL0iK2JX-uLJPgoz9BOBPjXVeu9fls36QM&index=11

    

Marella can‘t fill more ships than they have today, maybe one more but that‘s it.

[Jimbo]

2 hours ago, Jjohnb said:

 

Perhaps selling the remaining Vision and Radiance class ships to Marella would be a good option?  Marella is owned by TUI which is a joint venture owned 50% by Royal.  Marella Discovery is the old Splendour ots and Marella Discovery 2 is the old Legend ots.  I've watched a couple recent ship tours of the Marella Discovery on Youtube and it appears that Marella has made significant upgrades to it and it's in amazing condition.  We've been on the Enchantment and Vision recently and while they are in good shape and feel like home, the Marella Discover puts them to shame.  Vision and Radiance class ships would be primary ships for Marella and would receive the required capex where with Royal they are the past and are only receiving the minimum needed to keep them in service until they depart the fleet.

 

Marella Discovery ship tour:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0CiyzsaUQ&list=PL0iK2JX-uLJPgoz9BOBPjXVeu9fls36QM&index=11

    

The ship looks really nice!

[ValerieJo]

23 hours ago, Jjohnb said:

 

Perhaps selling the remaining Vision and Radiance class ships to Marella would be a good option?  Marella is owned by TUI which is a joint venture owned 50% by Royal.  Marella Discovery is the old Splendour ots and Marella Discovery 2 is the old Legend ots.  I've watched a couple recent ship tours of the Marella Discovery on Youtube and it appears that Marella has made significant upgrades to it and it's in amazing condition.  We've been on the Enchantment and Vision recently and while they are in good shape and feel like home, the Marella Discover puts them to shame.  Vision and Radiance class ships would be primary ships for Marella and would receive the required capex where with Royal they are the past and are only receiving the minimum needed to keep them in service until they depart the fleet.

 

Marella Discovery ship tour:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0CiyzsaUQ&list=PL0iK2JX-uLJPgoz9BOBPjXVeu9fls36QM&index=11

    

 

Thanks for the video.  The ship looks beautiful.  Splendour of the Seas was our first cruise.  

[instaGator]

On 11/9/2023 at 1:42 PM, Jjohnb said:

 

Perhaps selling the remaining Vision and Radiance class ships to Marella would be a good option?  Marella is owned by TUI which is a joint venture owned 50% by Royal.  Marella Discovery is the old Splendour ots and Marella Discovery 2 is the old Legend ots.  I've watched a couple recent ship tours of the Marella Discovery on Youtube and it appears that Marella has made significant upgrades to it and it's in amazing condition.  We've been on the Enchantment and Vision recently and while they are in good shape and feel like home, the Marella Discover puts them to shame.  Vision and Radiance class ships would be primary ships for Marella and would receive the required capex where with Royal they are the past and are only receiving the minimum needed to keep them in service until they depart the fleet.

 

Marella Discovery ship tour:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BK0CiyzsaUQ&list=PL0iK2JX-uLJPgoz9BOBPjXVeu9fls36QM&index=11

    

Thanks for sharing the video!  The ship looks great for being nearly 30 years old!